Last time I started to warn for the pitfalls of (fully) automated warehouse operations. What I meant is that if you by design see it as a single black box system I sense a risk of déjà-vu of the inflexible AS/RS silos of the 70’s. Here you might say: No chance! With the flexibility of today’s equipment and integrated warehouse control system (WCS) we can adjust and tune that system both up and down to meet variations in demand.
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What do you associate with the word AUTOMATION? As a warehouse management professional you would often equal automation with a complex material handling equipment (MHE) system including conveyors, sorters, high bay storage cranes etc. And most of us looking for such solutions think of it as a black box, a closed system supplied by an automation vendor to meet strictly defined input/output requirements. But this is where I want to raise a red flag.
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